


Marauders INC.

by lxpus23



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Illnesses, M/M, Male Slash, Mental Health Issues, Past Character Death, Past Rape/Non-con, Sexual Content, Slash, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-05-16 05:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5815405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lxpus23/pseuds/lxpus23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus is a single father, looking for a way to support him and his son. He's applied to a lot of jobs, but none have hired him so far. His last resort is Marauders Incorporated, as an assistant to a certain Sirius Black.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. City's beat

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my main language, so I apologize for any possible language mishap. This is an alternate universe, based entirely on my imagination, and so are my interpretations of the characters. Don't agree with me? Then don't read.
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoy!!

The rhythm of a city was always enticing, beating in the same pace as the hearts of its residents. Beating together with the laughter and the cries. The rhythm filling the city to its limit, as water filled water balloons. The beating in the same pace as the men and women in fancy suits walking rapidly while on their phones. The rhythm of a city is always a rhythm that demands to be felt, throughout every gender and non-genders, regardless of how their lives plays out. A pale and obviously nervous boy slash young adult standing on the pavement felt this demanding rhythm while examining the tall and boringly grey building sprouting in front of him. His name was Remus Lupin, 21, and he had never been this nervous his entire life.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Remus Lupin did his best in trying to breathe kind of normal. He did not do so well, not at all. But, after a while, he finally regained the small amount of courage that he actually had, and pushed the door open. Indoor and outdoor air pushed together and created a strange but somewhat pleasant scent. Inside of the building, it had the same appearance as an office building’s first floor usually have. The floor was shining clean and sort of reflected those who walked upon it with a blurry outline. There were plants, and more people in fancy suits. But after all the building was located in main financial district of London. There was a reception desk, of course, with a receptionist behind it but Remus didn’t pay much notice to her. He was too nervous.

“Good day, sir, and welcome to Ma- hey, are you okay?”

Remus jumped at the sound of a girl addressing him, as skittish as always. He slowly faced the receptionist and was struck by her appearance. Her hair was red as one would think when someone said “ginger”, her nasal bridge and cheekbones dotted with freckles and her eyes as green as… something really green. She was blatantly beautiful, even though she at the moment seemed concerned.

“Sir? Are you okay?” the girl repeated, a tad bit slower as if she thought that Remus didn’t understand her the first time. He had understood her, he really had, but his current agitated self hadn’t been able to make the connection. 

“I – uh, yes, I’m okay… I’m just… supposed to see someone today. About a job…”

The girl, Lily Evans – according to the badge on her chest, beamed at Remus before looking through a bunch of papers at her desk.

“Ah, uh, yeah. You are Remus Lupin, right?” – Remus nodded – “You were supposed to see Mr. Black, but he is absent today… If you want, I can check if someone else will be willing to make the interview?”

Remus shook his head, told her how it wasn’t necessary at all. He felt so dumb for arriving to this job interview, even though he deep inside knew how he couldn’t have known that the absent Mr. Black would be absent during this very day. Remus was aware of how Lily Evans the Receptionist made a phone call even though he had objected. She looked at him with a gentle grin on her face, thanking the person on the other line before putting the phone down and simply stating that “Mr. Potter will be ready to see you, Remus Lupin.”

\- - - -

Remus Lupin was tense, to say the least. Lily Evans the Receptionist had pointed him in the directions of the elevator hall. He really regretted his decision to continue forth with this interview-thing. But he needed the money, he really did, and the job seemed quite easy from the description. It was a simple assistant position to one of the company’s executives, with tasks that included making coffee, keeping track off meetings and stuff like that.

By the way, who the hell worked on the 23rd floor? Who the hell built an office with 23 freaking floors? Also, who decided that the elevators would move so freaking slow? Remus was agitated and his palms were so sticky and sweaty which made him worry about dripping on the floor.

“Okay, breathe”, he murmured under his breath. “It will be okay. Either you’ll get the job or you won’t. No one will laugh at you or make fun of you. They probably have a lot of nervous people applying for a job here. They’re used to people being nervous.”

During this monologue the elevator doors had slid open and several men and women in fancy suits waited for Remus to step out of the elevator carriage, and so he did.

\- - - -

He was supposed to meet a Mr. James Potter – well, not from the beginning of course, that dudes name was… something Black, Remus couldn’t remember his first name, probably because of its silliness. Remus often occupied himself with that, finding silly things, because it took his mind off all the other, more distressing, subjects that made him stress out. Lately, a lot more things had begun to stress Remus out, and a lot fewer things made him feel good and relaxed. It was probably because of him turning 21 and all of the adult-ness was starting to dawn upon him. God, how he hated being an adult. He hated having to pay rent, to declare his taxes and above all, he hated the responsibility. As an adult, you weren’t allowed to feel bad about yourself. You had to pull yourself together, for your own sake.

Remus sighed as the elevator doors closed behind him, bringing the fancy-suited men somewhere else and leaving him all alone in a corridor lined with quite spacious offices, visible through glass walls. He took a moment to reflect on who the hell chose to put in glass offices, before glancing over at his, quite faded, reflection in one of the glass walls. Remus was almost tall, 170 cm, and slender. His face was pale, mostly because of his lack of will to go outdoors, but also because when he did, he couldn’t get any colour. He got red from sunburn, and then he became his usual pale self, sometimes with an additional pair of freckles. This day in particular, he wore a white shirt with a brown, sleeveless pullover which matched quite perfectly with his hair. 

Remus let out a short sigh, pulled his messenger bag higher up on his shoulder but managed to drop it as soon as someone behind him cleared their throat.

“I bet you didn’t go all the way up to the 23rd floor just to admire your reflection, ey?”

Remus turned around, found himself face to face with a slightly shorter man, about the same age as Remus himself. The man had a face that was marked by hours in the sun, with round cheeks and a bright smile on his lips that Remus just couldn’t help but return.

“Uh, well, no… I’m actually looking for someone… a Mr. James Potter. Do you know where I can find him?” Remus raised his hand and corrected a strand of hair that had fallen out of place. His voice was kind of shaky, nervousness once again, but at least he didn’t stutter…

“Why, I do, actually”, the man smiled. “I bet you’re the bloke who Lily called about, right? Well, James is my boss, or I’m his assistant, or whatever. Peter Pettigrew.”

The other man, Peter Pettigrew, continued his monologue after exchanging handshakes with Remus and he didn’t think that Peter cared if he actually listened or not, he just seemed happy to have someone to talk to.

“Welcome to my humble abode”, grinned Peter as they reached a desk with a computer upon it. “Oh bloody hell, not another update.”

Peter sighed, making a rude gesture against the computer display that clearly stated “Updating Windows, please don’t turn off the power”. Remus smiled faintly at the shorter man before he turned his head to take in the new area. It was a bit more open than the hallway that he’d arrived in, and the offices still had outer walls of glass. Remus sighed, reflecting over how today’s design never really appealed to him. He had too much of a sense of privacy to like glass walls and open planning.

“Mr Black, the bloke that was supposed to see you today, resides over there” – Peter pointed on an empty office a few meters away – “and this is where Mr Potter is making his nest. He’s probably in a phone call right now, if I recall correctly, which I probably do since it’s my job to remember what he does and when he does it and even if the pay isn’t that good…”

Remus simply just stopped listening. Peter Pettigrew seemed like the kind of man that could just go on and on for hours, not caring squat about if someone tried to say something in between. But, at last, he ended the minute-long sentence with “but he’ll probably be able to see you in a minute or so.”  
Remus nodded civilly, and sat down in a spare chair to wait.

\- - - -

Peter Pettigrew had said that it would only be a minute, but it took almost twenty, until a bespectacled man phoned his assistant and told him to send Remus in.

“Right, here we go, mate”, said Peter, smiling widely, his freckles wrinkling against his face. “Good luck!”

Remus nodded courteously, wiped his sweaty palms off on his trousers, before entering the glass office in which his interviewer sat. His hair was black and messy, and not at all suited for a bossy suit kind-of person that Remus imagined that he was.

“Hello”, said the other man, his square glasses resting on the tip of his tan nose. Remus nodded and closed the door behind him.

“My name is James Potter, and I’ll be interviewing you today, since Sirius has decided to skip work.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Remus Lupin”, Remus answered automatically, grabbed James Potter’s out-stretched hand. After the, more than awkward, handshake, James Potter gestured towards the opposite chair, which Remus sat down in.

“So, I doubt that being an assistant is your calling on earth, mr Lupin”, said James Potter, grinning slightly. “Why did you apply for this job, and what is your endgoal? I see that you have no further education than the obligatory ones?”

Remus nodded slightly, decided to wipe away the sweat of his hands once again. “Uh, yeah. I applied to this job so I can support my son. I was about to become a teacher, I had been approved into college and all, but-”

“Things happened”, interrupted the interviewer. “How old is your son?”

“Three, sir-”

“Please don’t call me sir, Lupin, I’m barely older than you”

“Right, I apologize. He is three.”

James nodded, staring through the glass walls, into the office next door, which Peter Pettigrew had pointed out as the office of mr Black.

“Have you applied to any other jobs?”

Remus nodded; “I have. They turned me down, since I did not have the correct qualifications.”

James Potter repeated his earlier nod, thinking to himself.

“Fine, okay. Mr Lupin, we’ll be in touch with you tomorrow, when Black dares return to his office.”

It was the strangest interview in Remus’ life, and he left the office in such a daze. He didn’t even hear Peter Pettigrew say goodbye, which was strange since he spoke rather loudly.


	2. Introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, English is not my main tongue, the interpretations of the characters are mine but the characters themselves belong to JK Rowling. The story is mine.  
> Constructive criticism is well appreciated, please leave kudos and/or a comment if you like what you read!
> 
> x

Remus woke up the next day thanks to the phone’s sharp ring. He sat up, turned his head to the small boy sleeping next to him, praying that the call of the phone hadn’t woken him up. His son had had a rough enough time with nightmares already. Remus sighed, grabbed the cardigan hanging on a bed post and got up to search for the telephone.

“Lupin”, he answered tiredly when he found the phone. Remus held it firm between his ear and shoulder while preparing tea water. He was already up, so he could just as well get started with breakfast. No idea in getting back into bed.

“Mr. Lupin, this is Sirius Black from Marauder’s Incorporated.”

Was the time already that much? Remus spun around, looking at the clock. It was a quarter to nine, which made the phone call understandable again.

“Yes, good morning. What can I do for you?”

Remus kept talking while setting the table and began preparing oatmeal for his son.

“I gather that you had your interview yesterday, with James Potter?”

Remus nodded, but quickly realized that Sirius Black couldn’t see him; “Yes, yes I did. He told me that you’d be in touch.”

“And now I am. Mr Lupin, we’d like to offer you the position, beginning today, if you’re able.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Did I not speak clearly?”

Remus blushed heavily, apologized; “No, sir, I apologize. I’m shocked, that’s all.”

They agreed that Remus would be at his new work, mostly for an introduction, at 12 PM. He hung up on his new employer with the same confused feeling as he had when he’d left the business building the day before. It had been the shortest interview of his life, and it hadn’t even been with the man whom he would work for. And he had actually gotten the job. For his life, Remus could not imagine how. Dazedly, Remus continued on in his breakfast-making, stirring milk and strawberry jam into the finished oatmeal. He put it on the table, along with his coffee. He had barely two hours to finish everything and dropping off his son at Molly’s, the next-door neighbour who watched him when Remus couldn’t.

“Da? You’re here?”

Remus turned around, smiled at the sight of his three year old stumbling towards him, eyes still full of sleep.

“Good morning, Teddy”, he said, kneeled down to be at the same height as his son. “Slept well?”

Teddy nodded proudly; “No nightmares!”

“Good for you, love”, Remus laughed, pulled the blonde boy towards him. “I think it’s your da’s bed that makes all the magic happen, don’t you?”

Spending time with his son was Remus favourite occupation on earth. They had been through hell together, Teddy and him. Teddy’s mother, Nymphadora, had joined the army shortly after Teddy’s birth, and just five months later, Remus got the message that his wife had been shot and killed during a mission. So, he had raised Teddy on his own, which was hard enough with money, and a thousand times harder without. At first, Remus had borrowed some money from his parents, but they already had it economically tough and even though Remus knew that they would gladly sell their house to give him money, he couldn’t bring himself to ask that of them. Instead he grabbed Teddy and the few things they still owned and moved to London. 

Remus was forever thankful to the Weasley family next door, whose matriarch, Molly Weasley, was more than happy to take care of Teddy during the days - it was no trouble at all, since she had two sons about his age - while Remus was working multiple shifts at a crappy coffee house. It was a shitty job to say the least, but it payed rent and it was a real job, which he’d lost when the coffee house went bankrupt the month before.

“Ted Lupin, eat your food, don’t throw it”, Remus sighed, looking up from the newspaper. “I don’t have time cleaning up after you today, we have to be at Molly’s in an hour.”

“Why?” Teddy had reached the age when he started to question everything.

“Because your father has work to do, and he can’t leave you alone in the apartment.”

“Why?”

Remus smiled, shook his head. “Because you will wreck everything and leave me to clean it up.”

“Nuh-huh!” said Teddy, clearly trying, and failing, to keep a solemn expression. Remus tried to be strict with his son, but it didn’t take much for him to break into a smiling and giggling fit, together with Teddy. His light in, what seemed to be, eternal darkness.

\- - - -

Once again, Remus was roaming the crowded streets of central London. His boots making heavy sounds while thumping against the asphalt, beating with the same, steady pace of hi heart. This time, Remus wasn’t as nervous and he found some relaxation in watching the people around him. Men in fancy suits, angrily talking in their cells about buying and selling stocks, posh women with tiny dogs and huge shopping bags and adolescents playing hooky. Since he’d arrived in London, Remus had been oh-so fascinated with how everyone’s lives could go on simultaneously, flowing about in vivid colours and eloquent feelings. It sure was beautiful and also the reason why Remus wanted to be a teacher. He wanted to be a part of these flowing colours and feelings, he wanted to have a part in children’s lives, affect them and mold them into functioning individuals. To work with humans was to craft them, to build them, and Remus thought it beautiful.

As the day before, the gray building of Marauder’s Incorporated manifested in front of Remus’ eyes. It shot up from the ground, like a tree of marble, marking the world’s transformation into a new era of technology and man’s encroachment. The glass doors slid apart when Remus approached, and the inside air blended pleasantly with the air from outside.

“Good day, sir, and welcome to Marauder’s Incorporated”

Remus turned his face towards the reception counter, smiling at the same receptionist from yesterday, Lily Evans or something. She recognized him and returned his smile.

“Mr Lupin! It’s good to see you again”, she said.

“Likewise”

“Would it be too bold to congratulate you on your successful job interview?” Lily Evans asked, her eyes practically sparkling with joy. Remus shrugged.

“I guess it wouldn’t”, he said. “After all, I guess we’re colleagues now, right?”

Lily Evans nodded, her smile growing larger and showing a row of sparkly white, sort of straight teeth. She put her hand out, open palm, towards Remus and introduced herself properly. Name, Lily Evans - which meant that her badge was correct -, aged 21. Remus answered with an equal introduction, hugging her hand with his own.

“Great. Mr Black is waiting for you in his office. Do you know the way?”

Remus fidgeted with his shirt cuffs, feeling how the nervousness returned to him again. What if his new employer did not like him, and decided that it would be best if he just went home? After all, they had never met, Remus had just been approved of by mr Potter.

“Sir… I mean, Remus?” 

Lily broke the silence, who studied Remus carefully. He returned to reality and nodded, assuring his new colleague, and friend, that he was fine.

“Yeah, I’ll find my way. I’m sorry, I just got the butterflies again.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll like you, surely!”

Remus appreciated Lily’s kindness, thanked her and walked towards the elevator.

\- - - -

Remus had never understood elevator music, or lavatory music, or any public place music to be fair. He didn’t particularly dislike it, either, he was in fact rather pleased not being forced to hear the bloke in the booth next to him take a dump. The thing that baffled Remus was that he couldn’t wrap his head around who felt the need to sit down at a lavatory-improvement meeting and suggest that maybe they could play recordings of hummingbirds and waterfalls. It was strange.

The elevator music got interrupted by a soft jingle when the elevator doors slid open. They’d reached the fifteenth floor. Remus stepped aside to make room for more people in gaudy suits. They all studied him carefully for a slight moment, before re-indulging in their previous conversations and phone calls. He felt out of place, even though he’d made his best to dress properly. Newly washed trousers, a beige shirt and a cinnamon coloured suit jacket. He looked proper, and for once he actually felt content with his appearance.

Once again, the soft jingle disrupted the monotonous elevator melody and the doors drifted apart to reveal floor 23. Remus almost forgot that he was supposed to get off, and the elevator doors almost closed completely before he threw his hand in between to trigger the opening motion again. He quickly stepped out to avoid the condescending glances from the suit people and quickly turned around the corner.

_ Bam. _

Remus felt like he’d ran straight into a brick wall and he fell to the ground. If he had been blushing after the elevator incident, it was nothing in comparison to what he was doing now. His face was probably boiling.

“How’re you, mate?” a soft voice, probably belonging to a male specimen, said. Remus bent his neck, looking upwards on the man in a fancy suit, with long black hair being tied into a loose braid. Remus was at a loss of words and that he blamed entirely on the silvery eyes belonging to the slender stranger.

“Mate, are you okay?” repeated the man, reaching out his hand, palm open, to help Remus back up on his feet. Remus nodded hastily, took the other man’s hand and rose.

“Ye-yeah, I’m fine, thank you sir”, Remus said shyly, bowing his head in the man’s direction. He laughed and, my god, what a laugh it was. It infected Remus immediately, seeping through his every pore.

“Why, aren’t you a fair-spoken one”, he said, used his hand to wipe up dust from Remus’ shoulder. “What are you doing here? Except running me down, of course.”

“I’m… expected, I think at least. I was supposed to be here at noon. I have a meeting, I guess?”

The man raised his eyebrows amusingly and nodded in recognition; “Remus Lupin, I presume?”

Remus nodded, baffled; “Uh, yes, sir. Are you..?”

“Sirius Black, in the very flesh”, answered the man. “I was told about your book-ish appearance by my dear colleague. Please follow me.”

Remus was not quite sure if he were to take the remark as an insult or a compliment, but he decided on the latter, tagging along with the taller bloke. They walked into the same glass corridor as Remus had found himself in yesterday. A few metres away he could spot the sunburned and freckled Peter Pettigrew by his computer, talking with the tan, messy-haired man which spoke to Remus the day before.

“Hey, Potter”, Sirius Black shouted, which made Remus jump half a feet into the air. “Look who I found lurking the hallways.”

The bespectacled man turned, a smile growing on his face.

“Mr Lupin, welcome back. I suppose you’ve met with Sirius already, eh?” James Potter gave Remus his hand, and Remus shook it politely.

“Actually, he crashed right into me”, Sirius Black said, beaming proudly. Remus blushed.

“Right, sorry about tha-”

“Remus!” Peter Pettigrew, who’d just noticed his presence, interrupted him mid-sentence. “Welcome back, mate! I told you you’d get it!”

Peter’s outburst certainly didn’t help to cool down Remus’ blush, but he was happy to see an awfully friendly face around.

“Right, about that. You ready to get to work, Lupin?” Sirius Black asked, stretching his hand against Remus.

“Uh, yeah, sure”, Remus said, gripping Sirius’ hand.


	3. Ministry Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait, honestly, I really am. Writing hasn't been my top priority lately, with school and mental health acting up. I've finally gotten back into writing again, and I hope (I dare not say "promise") that I will produce chapters with more continuity. Thank you for sticking around, those of you who have. It means a lot.
> 
> A few pin-points:  
> 1\. English isn't my main language. Criticism IS appreciated, if expressed in a polite manner.  
> 2\. Yes, the time lines aren't correct, I know that. This is MY alternate universe, though. If it bothers you enough, then don't read it. Sorry, but that's the harsh truth.  
> 3\. I own nothing, but the story. The characters all belong to JKR, even though I might have modified them a bit to fit my headcanons  
> 4\. Please leave a comment and/or kudos if you like the fanfic, it means a lot to me
> 
> x

It took a couple of weeks before Remus adjusted his daily flow and rhythm to that of his new workplace. The mornings had finally began to fly past in a steady blur, getting up at six, getting Teddy ready and dropping him off at Molly’s by seven and running to catch up to the bus twenty minutes later. Usually, he arrived at Marauders INC. at ten to eight, after which he spent a good seven minutes chatting with whoever covered the reception that day, Lily Evans or Alice Longbottom usually. By three to eight, Remus caught the elevator all the way to the 23rd floor, arriving at his desk with a whole minute to spare.

“Mornin’, mate”, Peter greeted tiredly, filling his coffee cup to the brim. Remus nodded in response, busy with digging in his bag. He quickly found what he was looking for and placed the portrait of Teddy on his work desk.

“That’s your son, Lupin?”

Remus turned his head, greeting Sirius Black as he opened his office door. Monday mornings didn’t suit his employer. Sirius looked like he’d been run over by three bicycles and a bus on the way to work. His tie was poorly done and his shirt was haphazardly buttoned.

“Uh, yeah”, Remus answered, catching his thoughts before they ran amok. “This’s Teddy.”

“How old is he?”

“Three”, Remus responded, though he noticed that his employer had noticed himself in the glass door’s reflection. He corrected his buttons and redid his tie hastily before turning back and sending Remus a dashing smile.

“Cool.” For a moment, Sirius Black’s boyish character shone through the collected exterior. He had tendencies to do that, to forget his work character and turning into a person who Remus thought much more fitting of a person his age. Not that he didn’t admire Sirius’s ambitions and his abilities to excel in whatever he felt like doing, almost the opposite, and James Potter seemed the exact same way. According to Peter, both of them had gone to the same boarding school while growing up and were thick as thieves.

“Lupin?”

Remus returned to reality, realizing that he had been dreaming a good minute away, all while his gaze had been steadily fixed on Sirius.

“I’m sorry, sir, I lost track of my thoughts”, he apologized hastily. Sirius Black smiled.

“Yeah, I noticed. Get back to work.” And with that, the man spun around on his heels, walking into his office, leaving Remus at his desk, feeling awfully silly. With a sigh, he gave one last correction to the positioning of Teddy’s picture, before booting up his computer and sinking into his chair.

“Hey, Moony, ain’t you, like, twenty one?” Remus flicked his head, looked over at Peter by the coffee machine, who just looked like he’d made a proper breakthrough.

“Eh, yes, I turned twenty one in March, how about it? Also, where did that ‘Moony’ thing, come from?” He furrowed his brow, carefully inspecting his work mate.

“Oh, that’s just how you look. When you space away like that, y’know? All moony and stuff.”

Remus huffed a laugh, quietly rolling his eyes. Out of all the nicknames he’d gotten over the years, Moony was certainly the dumbest, which means a lot considering that ninety percent of his nicknames were given to him by his not-so-friendly-classmates in secondary school. Remus had always been the lonely child, his pre-pubertal looks certainly not suited for a ten year old. He had been tall, gangly and ridiculously thin. His mother used to complain over his weight at least once every two days. She was still complaining over his weight, but nowadays it was more of a friendly mother-teasing vibe, not actual worry.

“Mate, you’re doing it again”

“Pardon?” Remus snapped back into reality.

“You’re spacing off, again”, Peter said, grinning from ear to ear. Remus smiled apologetically as his shorter friend returned to his cubicle. “Anyhow, like I was saying, before you went all Buzz Lightyear on me - if you’re twenty one, and your son is three, you musta had him when you’re like…”

“Eighteen, going on nineteen”, Remus confirmed solemnly. “Yes. I’m not happy about it, but - alas - my son is the outcome of a drunkenly forgotten condom.” Peter seemed to think before he answered, which gave Remus the time to slide in another statement; “He has never lacked any love, and he’s always been wanted.”

Peter smiled gently; “No worries mate, I thought no such thing. How’s his mother, you still together?”

“She died, two years ago”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Remus I-”

“Don’t worry about it, Pete, you couldn’t have known. She was shot and killed in Afghanistan.”

“She was in the army?” inquired a voice, which didn’t belong to Peter, but rather to Peter’s boss, James Potter. Remus jumped a bit in his chair, not at all prepared on the bespectacled man entering their conversation.

“Yes, si-”

“Oh give it a rest, Lupin”, James Potter insisted. “This workplace ethics and polite-whatever gives me the creeps. Call me James, or nothing at all.”

Remus, taken aback and with a blush creeping up along his neck, nodded quietly. James Potter turned to Peter, giving him a short look.

“However, workplace ethics aside, I’d still like for you to forward my schedule for today.”

Peter replied with a grin; “Sure thing, gimme a minute, will ya?”

“A minute it is, then”, James responded, before returning to his office.

\----

“Marauder’s INC, Sirius Black’s office, how can I help you?”

Answering the phone around five hundred times per day had quickly became a part of Remus’ daily life, to that extent that he had to prevent himself not to answer his private phone calls with his work routine. This was not his private phone, though it quickly dawned upon him that it might become a private phone call.

Or, at least of a private kind.

“Lupin”, Lily Evans greeted him. Remus smiled to himself. Lily Evans always made it her thing to sound very work-ey and polite.

“Evans”, he replied snidely, “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a chap from the Ministry in the reception, has he got an appointment?”

Remus spun around in his chair, throwing a quick glance at the giant whiteboard nailed to the wall behind him. The square marking the time between ten and eleven had two big, red M’s scribbled across it.

“Yeah. Tell him to make himself comfortable, I’ll be down to get him in ten minutes.”

“Right. Thanks, Lupin.”

“No worries.”

Remus hung up the phone and arose from his chair, walking over to the whiteboard. The Ministry was basically the company that owned Marauder’s INC. and apparently - Remus didn’t know, he hadn’t been around for long enough - they scheduled meetings with their subsidiaries every other month, to check up on them. The MM on the whiteboard stood for “Ministry Meeting”, according to Peter, though both James and Sirius insisted on saying that it meant “ _Mischief Managed_ ”.

“When the Ministry comes around, you better be done with all your mischief, or they might withdraw some funding”, James had pointed out a couple of days ago when Remus asked why they thought it that way.

“There’s a Ministry executive waiting with Lily”, Remus told Peter, who’d just returned from his ninth trip to the coffee machine that morning. “Tell James and Black, will you?”

Peter nodded affirmatively, a slight frown in his brow; “Why aren’t you calling him Sirius, y’know, like the rest of us?”

Remus shrugged, walking over to the elevator. “He hasn’t told me to.”

And with that, he pushed his left index finger to the button, calling the elevator.

\----

Though the concept of elevator music still baffled Remus, he’d gotten awfully used to it. Taking the elevator to and from the 23rd floor took some time, and it helped with not making him feel totally alone, even if he were surrounded with seven men in decorative, expensive suits.

A soft ring, and a lady’s voice saying “Ground floor, reception”, before the elevator doors slid aside, revealing the open interior of the reception.

“Evans”, Remus greeted shortly, walking up to the rounded desk station in the center. The ginger girl smiled at him, nodded politely.

“Lupin”, she replied, with the same kind of smug politeness as Remus had gotten to know and actually like. “He’s right over there. Mr Greyback.”

Remus’ heart skipped several beats, feeling all the blood draining from his face. Greyback. She couldn’t mean… it wasn’t… _that_ Greyback? Surely, Greyback was an usual surname… right? With a sigh only barely escaping his lips, Remus gave Lily a grateful nod, before walking over to the collection of armchairs in the corner.

“Mr Greyback?” he asked, clearing his throat. A familiar, rough and hardened figure erected from the furthest armchair, pushing back his long, graying hair. Once again, Remus’ heart skipped several beats.

“Remus Lupin”, the man greeted him, walking closer. “Long time, no see, eh?”


	4. Long Time No See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- English is not my main language, nice criticism is accepted  
> \- This is my AU, not yours. Don't like it, don't read.  
> \- Nothing but the story is mine, the characters all belong to JKR  
> \- Please leave kudos or a comment if you like the chapter!!
> 
> x
> 
> (TW; implication of rape in the last cursive section)

The world around Remus kept spinning, the earth stayed on its axis. Lily Evans in the reception kept working, while fancy people in equally fancy suits flooded in through the doors. Yet, Remus’s heart had stopped. Well, it hadn’t  _ literally _ stopped, but he honestly doubted if it hadn’t decreased its beat. His legs felt weak and shaky, his head spun, and through his nose, he inhaled a familiar smell; cologne, dog hair and… wet pavement.

_ His nose scrunched up due to the sharp, chemical whiff of pavement, soaked in what was more like a waterfall than actual rain. His hair was glued tightly to his cheeks, outlining his jawbone. Remus needed a cut, really, but it hadn’t been the most important thing on his mind lately. Finding a job was, keeping Teddy alive was. To keep Teddy alive was the most important thing on Remus’s mind, more important than his own life. Thankfully, his mother disagreed and fed her son while he fed his son. _

_ “You won’t be able to look after him when you’re dead, silly”, she remarked almost every day, while forcing him to have another bowl of soup. It was a legitimate claim and Remus knew that perfectly well; it was just what was left of his boyhood that made him try to oppose her. Rebelling had never been Remus’s forte though. Throughout most his childhood, he’d clung to his mother, always following her every step and echoing her every saying - this particularly annoyed his father, always saying it was like having two of his wife. Remus loved both of his parents, obviously, but his mother had always been a little closer to his heart, his father being too strict and authoritative to bewitch the sensitive child that Remus always had been. _

_ Remus’s thoughts took to an abrupt end as he smashed into the hard torso of an opposing pedestrian. Even though it was oh-so-embarrassing to crash into someone like that, Remus rejoiced on the face that the unknown before him had an umbrella. _

_ “I’m so sorry”, Remus croaked, his voice hoarse after not talking for a few hours. The man in front of him chuckled grimly, shaking his head. _

_ “The apology is due on my end”, he said. “I should’ve looked around me, making sure that no handsome young lads that yourself risked getting hurt.” _

_ Usually, Remus should have blushed. Now though, the rain had chilled him down to that extent that he suspected his lips to soon be turning blue; “I’m not hurt, sir-” _

_ Another chuckle exited the lips of the tall stranger. “Oh, he is polite too. What a catch”, he sing-sung. A shiver ran up along Remus’s spine and he instinctively took a step back, rain splashing down towards him once again. When looked at from an angle further away, the man with the umbrella looked menacing, with long gray hair falling forward and hiding most of his face, apart from a white, toothy grin. _

_ “Don’t be scared, boy” - the man took a step forward, following Remus’s trail - “My name’s Fenrir Greyback, what’s yours?” _

_ Though all instincts told Remus to run, to turn around and leg it for all that he was worth, he didn’t. For a moment, he interrupted his advance backwards and let himself be covered by Fenrir Greyback’s umbrella once again. _

_ “Remus Lupin”, he stuttered through the cold, putting his arms up around himself, hoping both to gather some warmth and to protect him. “I’m Remus Lupin.” _

_ “Remus Lu-...” _

“..pin. Remus?”

Remus was abruptly taken back to the reality, twitching violently as a grayish, veiny hand nudged his shoulder.

“Don’t touch me”, Remus hissed, hastily backing away from Fenrir Greyback. “The elevator’s this way,  _ sir _ ”

Remus spun around, walking off towards the elevators. He was far too aware of Greyback’s blue stare fixating on his neck.

\----

“James, sit down for God’s sake”, growled Sirius Black as his bespectacled friend rose from his chair with a look sharing scary similarities with the look James usually had when he wanted to beat someone up. In fact, Sirius had no doubts that James actually wanted to meet Fenrir Greyback’s face with his fist.

“Sirius!” James exclaimed, exasperated, falling back in his chair and rubbing his temple. “You can’t honestly let him do this? We won’t be anything without their money!”

Sirius knew that very well. He knew how much their company relied on the Ministry fundings, and he also knew how much of a grudge the Ministry held towards them and how unwilling they were to actually give them any money. While Sirius owned the company right there and then, he hadn’t always. It had been his father’s, named  _ The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black _ \- or just  _ House of Black _ for short - and was passed down to Sirius’s younger brother when their father died. Regulus, however, wasn’t interested in the company and passed the company over to Sirius. Sirius wasn’t like his father in many ways, and at first had no interest in the company, especially a company bearing the name of a family who reminded him of nothing but trouble.

“They can’t withdraw their money, Potter”, Sirius said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. “Me and them both know that. The contract is still standing. A contract which we haven’t violated in the slightest.”

“You changed the name”, growled Greyback, walking over to Sirius. “This ain’t the company which signed the contract.”

“On the contrary, Greyback”, Sirius bit back, not backing down as the older man approached him. “It’s the very same company. The full name is  _ Marauders Incorporated; The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black _ , and you know it.”

“Your father would neve-”

“My father is dead, Fenrir, so don’t you lecture me on what he would and wouldn’t do!”

\----

“Remus, mate, c’mere”

Remus jerked his head, glancing over towards Peter which had shifted all of his attention from his current report to Sirius’s glass walls.

“What?” Remus sighed. “Peter, I have work to do…”

“Never mind that now, come take a look at this.”

Remus sighed once again, but was easily convinced. He spun around in his chair and fixed his eyes on the walls separating his employer’s office from the rest of the floor. Sirius Black’s long raven hair had fallen out of the messy bun he usually fastened it in, but the otherwise very superficial man had no intent on re-doing it. Instead, he stood inches away from Fenrir Greyback, both seemingly growling at eachother. Both men shared striking similarity to dogs raising their hackles when turning aggressive.

“What are they doing?” asked Remus quietly, looking over at his fawn-haired colleague. Peter shrugged, looking more amused than anything.

“I s’pose they’re arguing about money, again. The Ministry ain’t happy with Sirius, changing the name of the company and all. They usually send blokes over here once a month to try and reason with him, to get him to act more like his dad, you know?”

“His dad?” Remus asked, furrowing his brow. Peter finally tore his gaze from the growling men, looking over at Remus.

“You didn’t know? Orion Black, Sirius’s dad, founded this company and that’s the only reason why we’re still getting Ministry support, y’see? He signed a contract that the Ministry would continue to support his company as long as his son was alive.”

“And the Ministry actually agreed on that?” Remus asked in disbelief. It seemed like one hell of a contract to sign. Like, there were so many ways one could be screwed over by such a contract. Peter opened his mouth to answer, but quieted down as the door to Sirius’s office swung open and, clearly agitated, Fenrir Greyback stormed out. He gave Remus a quick glance, before marching off towards the elevator. The black-haired men in Sirius’s office cheered, celebrating their newly achieved victory. Peter smiled admirably and returned to filling in his report. Remus, however, was completely immobile, the furious, bewildered look in Greyback’s eyes sending him back two years.

_ It was the first time that Remus was invited to his boyfriend’s house. Before, they’d only met in public places, giving each other quick pecks on the cheeks and mouth at the end of the night. Remus still felt in denial about their relationship. He had never seen himself as gay, nor even bisexual, yet he felt drawn to Fenrir. He had an alluring aura surrounding him and he made Remus feel appreciated. Fenrir’s house was more like a cottage, small and damaged, resting on the edge of a small village. Some of the windows were cracked, and the front door barely hung straight in the door frame, creaking loudly as it swung open. _

_ “The village thinks it’s haunted”, Fenrir pointed out, as he closed the door behind them, kicking off his shoes. “They’re claiming they hear screams from it at night, calls it the Shrieking Shack. It’s completely incomprehensible. A couple of nutters’s all they are.” _

_ “It’s… cosy”, Remus said hesitantly, not really coming up with a better adjective than cosy. It was odd, but Fenrir seemed to fit right in. Rough, rugged and graying, both him and his house. Fenrir chuckled deeply, put his hand on Remus hip, pulling him closer. _

_ “Glad you like it”, he whispered as he leant closer to Remus, his lips to his ear. It felt slightly uncomfortable, Remus silently admitted to himself and tried to loosen Fenrir’s grip on his hips. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, making Fenrir’s long dingy finger’s only clench tighter around his hips. _

_ “Fenrir, release me”, Remus demanded, voice shaky. Fenrir shook his head, leaning ever so closer, his lips moving over Remus’s throat. Remus jerked his head, trying his best to get loose. Fenrir’s hands suddenly shifted, pressing against Remus’s shoulders and pinning him against the door. Remus started flailing, though he came to an abrupt halt when he met Fenrir’s eyes. The familiar eyes had turned beastly, bloodshot and livid. _

_ “The best thing about the Shrieking Shack”, Fenrir growled faintly “Is that no one is going to care when you scream.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh, this last section was very hard writing. I promise you though, that this is the closest that I will get to writing non-con, with only possible mentions of it in the future.
> 
> Thanks for reading xx


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